The Secrets of Your Past
by Super-sonic Iblish
Summary: Sonic and Knuckles get into arguements a lot. But what if Sonic found out what exactly Knuckles had to go through when his clan was wiped out. I got the idea when I learned about slavery in History class. Some fan chars used to make the story flow, sry
1. Chapter 1

"THAT'S IT! GET OFF MY ISLAND, RIGHT NOW!"

I backed a few steps away from the seething echidna. I wasn't exactly sure what it was that ticked Knuckles off, all I said was "I guess it's not fun being the last of your kind, huh?" I looked at Tails, but he had his face resting in his palm, and he was shaking his head disapprovingly and mumbling "Dear God Sonic!" like he knew I shouldn't have said it. I know, I probably shouldn't have, but it was just a simple question, not like I criticized him or anything! Oh, and the visit actually started out so nicely. We were chatting for a few moments, updating each other about our lives… Knuckles didn't have much to tell, of course. We went to sit by the edge of the island, where the Master Emerald was still visible of course, and watched the clouds roll by and chatted some more. That's when he started talking about how he wished he could know what it was like to have a normal life with his people, and how he couldn't remember any of his past, yadda yadda yadda. That's when it slipped, and _man_ did I wish I hadn't!

"But Knuckles, I-," I tried to get out more, but the blasted echidna stopped me there.

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY BUTS! Get off my island now, and I never want to see you up here again, or so help me I'll _murder_ you!" he exclaimed, balling his fist and putting it only centimeters from my nose. I could have sworn I saw his eyes quiver while he threatened me, like he was holding back tears or something. What was he hiding? Knuckles whirled around and stormed back over to the Master Emerald shrine. I gulped and backed away from him, grabbing Tails' hand and taking him with me.

"Heh heh, ok then, I guess I'll… see you later then?" I said quietly, before I sped towards the X-Tornado, nearly forgetting I was dragging Tails behind me. Once I stopped, I let go of Tails' hand and looked back at the shrine and the giant green gem glowing on top of it once more. I could see Knuckles' small shape walking up the steps towards it, and I looked away.

"Sonic, you've seriously done it this time!" Tails said, brushing his fur off.

"I'm sorry… I didn't expect him to react like that!" I replied, turning to face Tails.

"Sonic, you don't know anything about what happened to the echidna population, do you?" Tails replied bluntly. I lowered my ears slightly. I may have remembered something about it along the way on the news, but honestly… I forget things so fast.

"I'll take that as a no," Tails replied. "About eleven or so years ago, humans invaded the island and began to slaughter them. They enslaved so many of the echidnas, putting them through torturous rides back to the mainland where they'd be sold and put to work. Honestly, Knuckles was lucky to have made it through that without getting captured or killed," Tails replied.

"Eleven years ago… so he was only 5?" I exclaimed. I've never heard this story before… I was seriously shocked. Tails nodded to answer my question. "Oh man, I feel so guilty," I mumbled. I turned to look at my pal. "You think I should go up there and apologize?" I asked him.

"W-well, he seemed pretty mad Sonic," Tails murmured.

"Don't worry; I'm sure he didn't really mean he'd murder me. Anyways, if he tried, I'll just run back over here. Have the engine running so I could get out of here as soon as possible, ok?" Tails nodded in reply, and I headed back in that direction. I went slowly, because all the while, I ran through what I was going to say a million times in my head.

I headed up the stairs, slowly, to the shrine. I could feel my palms growing sweaty inside my gloves. I still can't believe I was actually that scared of him at that moment.

At the top, I saw Knuckles sitting next to the Master Emerald and looking at it, one hand on it, reciting some sort of enchantment or something in his native tongue. I shuddered slightly, then cleared my throat.

"Kn-Knuckles?" I stammered.

"Didn't I warn you about coming back here?" he asked me. Knuckles never even looked at me, yet he could tell I was there. He wasn't lashing out irrationally at me, so that was a good thing; maybe I'd actually be able to get out an apology before he attacks me.

"Knuckles, please, I came to say I was sorry," I tried to reason. Somehow, he didn't look convinced. "Tails told me about what happened to your clan. I had no idea, I'm sorry, and I didn't mean to hurt or offend you," I said, trying my best to sound truly sincere.

Knuckles huffed, and he actually smiled, still not looking at me. However, this wasn't an "its ok, I forgive you" type of smile. He looked more like he was about to school me… with his fists.

"Tails… the boy has no idea what really happened that day…" he said, with a tone that immediately told me there's more to this story. Knuckles looked back to the Master Emerald and his smile grew bigger, and more disturbing. He whispered some more words to the rock in his Echidnean language, and it began to glow. "…Oh no, he doesn't know the half of it…" Knuckles mumbled to me.

"What aren't you telling us?" I asked Knuckles, trying to take a step further. But suddenly, Knuckles was on me, before I had a chance to react. In the blink of an eye, he was on top of me, pinning my arms behind my back. I let out a cry in pain, then struggled to get him off of me.

"Let me go, let me go!" I cried. Knuckles got off of my back, but still had a grip on my arms. He pushed me, full speed ahead, towards the glowing Master Emerald. He didn't appear to be stopping, so I readied myself to have my face smashed into the side of the rock. I closed my eyes, tensed, and let my feet go limp so Knuckles was pushing me full force towards its hard, awaiting surface.

But then, it was the strangest thing… I felt as if I were falling, and I cracked open my eyes. Suddenly, ground was rushing towards me. I had no time to react, before I slammed onto the ground, flat on my stomach and knocking the wind from me. I wheezed for a breath for a few seconds, before I pushed myself to my hands and knees. My hand rushed to my dizzy head, and I rubbed it while I looked up and around to see where I was. I was so confused… the last thing I remembered was being shoved towards the Master Emerald… how was I here now? Was this a vision or flashback? I couldn't possibly be, because that fall really hurt… maybe I had been somehow transported to wherever this was? The place looked familiar, that was for sure. He had landed in the grass, right by a sandy shore that resembled the edge of Angel Island. But, this island wasn't floating. Right off the edge of the sandy beach, the rolling ocean waves kissed the sand and the sun was high above the horizon line between sky and sea.

"Where am I?" I mumbled, looking towards the opposite direction. I was looking into a deep, dense forest that also resembled the forest right off the base of Angel Island.

"C-Could this really be Angel Island?" I mumbled to myself, as I stood up and walked up to the base of the forest. Well, there was only one way to find out the answer to that question, so I trekked into the uncharted, jungle-like forest.

I was walking for several miles, walking past trees and bushes that I could've sworn I already passed, hoping that I didn't get lost. I was terrified that at any moment, something would jump out and attack me in this unknown wilderness.

"Oh please please let this be a dream!" I mumbled to myself. "Please tell me Knuckles just smashed my head into the blasted rock and now I'm flying home in the X-Tornado with Tails, and I'm just in an unconscious nightmare…"

Suddenly, a rustling sound ripped me from my worrisome thoughts. I whipped my head around towards the source of the sound and prepared to split if it were anything dangerous. The "whatever it was" was edging closer in a bush that happened to be right near me. I backed away a few steps and gulped, pulling my ears down.

"Uh… h-hi there! I'm not going to… to hurt you…" I forced out, my voice barely coming out in a squeak. The object hopped out into the clearing, and I flinched, scrunching my eyes shut and putting my hands out in front of my face and body to protect myself. But when several seconds went by with noting, no growling or obviously attacking, I opened my eyes and looked down. Sitting near my feet was a small, fluffy, white rabbit… one of the normal animals that resided on Mobius. Feeling foolish, I relaxed and knelt down by it.

"Hey there little fella!" I said sweetly to it. "Do you happen to know a way out of here?" I asked it, though I didn't expect a reply. Of course, it just stared at me with its huge, black eyes, its nose twitching. "Of course, I didn't think so," I mumbled, pulling my ears down, irritated.

That's when I heard it, a small twang, and the rushing of air. That's when an arrow struck the rabbit in its side, bringing it down and killing it instantly. I stared at it for a moment, mouth agape, my voice crackling in awe and probably fear. That's when I heard a juvenile shout from behind some bushes. I looked up to see two small echidnas jump out of the forest and run up to their catch. Now, by now, I was utterly terrified and confused as hell. If Knuckles was the last of his kind, then how were there two young echidna children running full force right at me, shouting and wielding their weapons… OH SHIT! They're running full force at me, wielding their weapons!

I flinched again and cowered in front of them… kind of humiliating, considering they were kids, but I couldn't run away in a territory that I wasn't familiar with, and they had weapons while I had nothing… no chaos emeralds or anything! But then, here was the really weird part. The kid stopped in front of the rabbit and began talking in their native tongue, which I repeat, didn't understand much of. Knuckles had once taught me some of it, but it was hard to memorize and remember. The two kids, both boys, decked out in fancy face paintings and bands around their short dreadlocks, stooped over the dead rabbit, and the one who shot the arrow set down his bow and ripped the arrow from the rabbit. They acted as if they couldn't even see me! I relaxed again, but not entirely this time, and stepped closer to them.

"Uh, excuse me?" I asked. But, to prove my theory that they couldn't see me, they didn't reply and didn't even look my way. It was as if I was a ghost or something, and I could see and hear them but they weren't aware of my presence, like in the movies.

The two boys were babbling their language amongst each other for several moments, before the one who'd shot the arrow bent down and picked up the rabbit, then they started heading off in another direction. I almost didn't want to follow them, but I didn't know where I was, and if I was somehow invisible to these people, it's not like I'd be attacked. So, I headed after them, listening in on their conversation as I did. I could understand bits and pieces here and there. Like, at one point, the shorter of the two boys, one with peachy-red fur, said the word "_Corinazona_," which meant "celebration." Then I heard other phrases like "_Hach tuk sudest_," which meant "these are blessings," and "_Vesha Lambir,"_ which meant "The Gathering of the Clans." I put two and two together, and figured that rabbit was probably for some sort of celebration they were having for some sort of "Gathering of the Clans."

Again, I was still so confused at that point. Knuckles would be so surprised to know that echidna tribes still existed out… wherever I was.

The two boys led him towards a tribe camp, where I couldn't help but stop and gape in awe at the camp. There were tents up everywhere, where the echidnas lived. There were tons of echidnas, all variant colors of red, peach, and white, and wearing all sorts of decorative dreadlock bands, tribal face paint, and tribal garbs for the ladies, walking around the tribe. Every one of them appeared to be doing something, whether it be coming back to the camp with food or water, or they were making or building things, carrying things, selling things, teaching strategies to younger echidnas, or just talking to others. I had never seen so many echidnas all in one spot before in my life… in fact, Knuckles was actually the only one. But then, I heard a horn blowing, and the echidnas all began to crowd around the center of the village. A few younger and teenaged echidnas ran towards me, but I didn't notice, until they had run right straight through me and on towards the gathering group. It startled me, but I already knew that I was unseen, so I didn't really take it to heart. Instead, I wanted to know what was going on. Man did I wish I could understand more of what they were saying! But suddenly, I was transported away from the area.

Completely confused, I looked around at my changing atmosphere, and noticed that I was being sent into the forest again.

"Who's controlling this thing!" I exclaimed. I heard a voice echo in my head.

"_You must know the truth…"_ the voice spoke. I gasped… I recognized the voice.

"Knuckles!" I cried randomly out to no one. "_I will help you translate what's going on,"_ the voice continued, not replying to my voice. I knew it, I recognized the voice now; this was Knuckles, he was communicating to me. That mean he knew where he was… and he was probably the one who sent him here.

"Knuckles, where am I!" I called. "I know it's you, and I want out of here!" I shouted.

"_You must know the truth,"_ his voice repeated, and the sound echoed and disappeared in my mind. I looked around, but couldn't find the source of the voice. Instead, I heard another group of voices… English voices!

"Yes, finally, English people!" I exclaimed, and I ran towards the sound of the voice. But I froze when instead of a hedgehog or someone I recognized, I saw another group of young echidnas.

A group of small echidnas were walking out in the woods, following their teacher.

"…And that's how the echidnas have been blessed with the responsibility of keeping the Master Emerald here on this island," the teacher finished her story. The group kept trekking on in the forest, heading back towards camp, talking along the way.

I didn't know why I could understand them, until I heard Knuckles' voice again. "_I told you that I was going to help translate for you,"_ he said. But then, some rustling brought my concentration towards the bushes.

Another young echidna, a red one with violet eyes, white and green face paint markings on his face and a single white and blue band around his front dreadlock on one side, and an odd white crescent mark upon his chest, peeked over the bushes at his comrades hiking past him. He chuckled to himself in his throat and sunk back down below the brush. I squinted my eyes to see if I could try and still see him, but he was gone. However, he did appear familiar for some reason.

The teacher, a peachy-pink female wearing a dark brown shawl and a white band on each of her dreadlocks, stopped and looked back at her pupils.

"Where is Knuckles? Have you seen where he's gone this time?" she asked them.

"KNUCKLES!" I exclaimed, looking through the group of children echidnas, trying to find which one was him. But then, I thought back to the one I'd seen in the bushes.

Suddenly, before anyone can answer, the red echidna poked his head down, upside down, right in front of the teacher and the rest of the class, uttering out a loud roar and causing the teacher to scream and jump. The echidna was hanging upside down by his legs on a branch hanging over them, and now he was laughing at them as the teacher recollected herself, along with a few of the other kids, and the others laughed with him. The teacher frowned at him and pulled him down off the tree.

"Knuckles, that was not funny!" the teacher scolded. My eyes grew wide in shock. That young echidna… that seemingly careless and joking echidna was Knuckles, the uptight, boring, stick-in-the-mud echidna he knew, as a kid!

Knuckles was still smiling, but he put his head down. "Yes Kira-May," he said, kicking his foot at a pebble on the floor. With that, he walked back over to his other classmates, and once he was next to his friends, he smiled at them.

"Ha ha, that was hilarious Knuckles! She had to have jumped at least five feet into the air!" one red echidna boy with white tips of his quills said to Knuckles.

"Yeah, that was one of my best!" Knuckles chuckled.

"Knuckles, that most certainly was not funny!" a girl echidna his age scolded. "You scared both Kira-May and me! And I bet you didn't even hear the story she was telling!" Knuckles rolled his eyes then smiled down at her.

"Don't worry Linda-Jo, dad's taught me that story time and time again; I already know it! Remember, I am going to be its next guardian," he bragged, pointing to the crescent-shaped mark on his chest.

"Showoff…" another girl echidna, a bit older than him, mumbled.

"Yeah, dad's told me tons of stories! I bet you didn't know that at one point, this island used to actually float in the heavens!" Knuckles said, looking around at all the kids, who were looking at him now with interest. "That's how the island got its name! Dad said that because the Master Emerald controls the island, it used to allow this planet to float, suspended hundreds of miles above the surface of the planet. But for some reason, it doesn't work anymore," Knuckles said.

"Please! You of all people should know that's just a fairytale!" a male echidna with red fur spoke. Another male echidna, with deep red fur and glasses, spoke as well. "That seems highly illogical; how could it possible defy the laws of gravity?" Knuckles shrugged.

"I dunno, maybe with some special rocks or something?" he replied.

"Well Knuckles, thank you for that riveting story. But I'm going to have to tell your mother about your misbehaving again," their teacher, Kira-May, said to him.

I rose a brow confusedly, and thought back to the sandy beaches and the ocean I'd seen before. Does that mean that at this time in the past, Angel Island didn't float?

Just then, they heard the horn that I'd heard earlier in the village, blowing through the forest. All of the children looked towards the direction town probably was, some gasping.

"Village meeting, we must leave now!" Kira-May said to the students, and she shepherded them towards the village.

I turned and watched them leave. "Knuckles..? I don't know why you showed me this, but I think I'm ready to go home now!" I called. I heard a laugh in my head. _"Oh no, you haven't seen the half of it yet!"_ his voice replied, and the background changed again.


	2. Chapter 2

I looked around, to try and see where I had appeared this time. It looked like I was in one of those tents I had seen earlier, the ones the echidnas slept in. It was actually very quaint. There were animal skin rugs on the floor, used as carpeting, and several echidnean decorations and artwork inside it. That's when I heard humming. I whirled around fast and saw a female, pale lavender colored echidna with red bangs, cradling a small infant in her arms. She was wearing beautiful feathers in her dreadlocks and had a tribal gown on. She was humming a melody to the child, a small light-red furred echidna girl with white bands on her very short dreadlocks. The baby girl yawned, showing one single tooth in her mouth, then snuggled up against her mother's chest and fell asleep. She then placed the baby in a whicker basket and tucked her in with a knit blanket.

"Sleep well, little Kristy-Lee," the mother whispered to the baby, kissing her on her tiny, pinkish-tan cheeks. Just then, the sound of that same horn call rang out.

"Mama! Mama!" a familiar voice called out. In rushed the 5-year-old Knuckles I had just seen before. I gasped slightly as I watched Knuckles run up and hug that woman he called mama.

"So that's Knuckles' mother?" I mumbled to myself. "Then that means that baby girl was... h-he had a..."

"Sssh, don't wake your sister," Knuckles' mom whispered to young Knuckles. The red echidna nodded, then peeked into his sister's cradle.

"Hi Kristy!" he said quietly, in a higher-pitched voice. The baby kept sleeping soundlessly.

"Come on Knuckles, let's go see why they've called an emergency clan meeting," his mother said to him.

"But what about Kristy?" Knuckles asked, looking up at his mother.

"She'll be fine, we're going to be right back," his mother assured, and she took her son's hand and they left the tent. I looked down at the sleeping baby girl.

"You had a baby sister Knuckles?" I called out, and waited for a reply. But oddly, Knuckles' voice didn't reply. I heard a loud commotion outside, and took one last look at Kristy-Lee before I headed outside too.

All of the echidnas in the tribe were gathered around the center, and an elderly, dark red echidna with a white beard stood in the center. He raised a withered arm and continued his speech.

"…These pale visitors have docked only a short time ago. They seem to have posed no threat thus far, but be careful. We do not know if they wish to stay or not, and we do not wish to anger them!" the elder exclaimed.

Suddenly I realized, and gasped, thinking back to what Tails had said. "Humans invaded and took over."

"Pale visitors? Oh no... it's that day!" I mumbled.

"If they come to us, present them with the gifts of peace, hopefully they will understand that we mean no harm," the elder continued.

"No, don't! They're going to kill you, fight back!" I shouted out.

"_They can't hear you stupid_," Knuckles' voice echoed. I knew that, but I ignored my urge to give him a snappy reply.

"Isn't there anyone I could actually communicate with?" I asked.

"_No, this is all a vision, in the past. You can't change what's already happened_," Knuckles replied. "_Just stay quiet and watch the show._"

Suddenly, echoing from the bay, came the sound of a cannon shot. All of the echidnas gasped in fear and it grew silent. Murmured words like, "Is there as storm?" "What was that?" or "Thunder?" could be heard in the crowd. A second cannon fire rang out, and then suddenly, a gunshot. The elder of the tribe gasped, as his chest began to bleed around a small but fatal bullet wound. He fell to the ground, and while some rushed to his aid before they pronounced him dead, most began to panic and run. I thought back to Knuckles and his mom and sister. I spotted Knuckles' mother, who still held Knuckles' hand.

"Mama, what's going on?" Knuckles cried over the screaming and shouting.

Suddenly, hundreds of humans, who appeared like pirates of some sort, burst from the trees around them, screaming and shouting as they ran at them, wielding swords and shooting guns at the echidnas. The females and children began to scatter, while the males stood their ground and tried their best to fight off the pale invaders.

I looked back at Knuckles and his mother. They were running back to their tent, so I followed. His mother stopped right outside the tent, when she heard a certain echidna's scream. She whirled her head around and saw two humans dragging off a middle-aged, male, red echidna.

Knuckles' mother gasped. "LOCKE!" she cried. Knuckles peeked out of the tent.

"DADDY!" he screamed, as he saw them beat his dad across the head and drag him off. Knuckles had tears in his petrified eyes. His mother knelt down by him.

"Knuckles, I want you to grab Kristy-Lee and run!" she commanded. "Get out of here and never come back!" she said strictly.

"B-But mama!" Knuckles cried, tears running down his face.

"Go, now! Don't stop running!" she commanded. Knuckles disappeared inside of the tent and came out a moment later carrying his little sister, who was bundled up in her blanket.

"RUN!" his mother shouted. Knuckles turned and ran towards the woods with his sister, while his mother ran forward to try and save her husband.

I looked back towards where Knuckles had run and I ran after him. The little boy had run into a bush and crouched down in it, hiding from the humans and watching everything that happened. He stared, wide-eyed, as the humans began dragging hundreds of his people away, towards their ships. He saw others, children and women mostly, being killed before his eyes. I was crouched right next to him; I could hear his heavy, shaky breathing, and clearly see the tears in his eyes. The 5-year-old held his baby sister close to his heaving chest, but I noticed that Kristy's eyes were beginning to flicker open.

Kristy-Lee's nap had been so rudely interrupted by the sounds of screaming, and she whimpered slightly, which brought Knuckles' attention back to her. He looked down at her and quietly shushed her.

"Please Kristy, don't cry!" he whispered to her, and he patted her back gently. But she was confused and scared, and really wanted her mommy, so she opened her mouth and let out a loud wail. My spine shivered and I felt my heart leap, fearful for them being seen, until the cry was cut short.

Knuckles had cupped his hand around his sister's mouth, muffling her cry, and Knuckles whipped his head back up to his peephole in the bush.

"Please please please don't notice," he mumbled, his hand still over his sister's mouth, who'd begun to chew on his hand in reply.

Two humans, one who was probably the captain, we're talking amongst each other, looking in our direction. My heart began to race. Then the second man pointed exactly to the bush we waited in. Knuckles had also noticed, and appeared as though he was going to sneak away quickly, when suddenly the bush was ripped apart from the top by another man. Startled, Knuckles screamed and cowered underneath him. It startled me too, and my heart was beating a million times a second.

"Hey captain, there's two more here!" another man called, and he reached down and grabbed Knuckles up by his dreadlocks. He lifted him up off the ground, until his feet were hanging, and Knuckles screamed and kicked in both anger, pain, and fear, holding his sister up against his chest. By now, Kristy-Lee was wailing and bawling like mad. The captain walked up to the two echidnas and eyed them over.

"Hmm... the baby won't survive without a mother... but the boy... he would probably survive," the man said, and although I understood him, Knuckles appeared to have not understood a single word; since he normally didn't speak English.

As the captain reached out, Knuckles began to breathe heavily in fear and whimper. The captain tried to pry Kristy from Knuckles' arms but he would not let go, and Knuckles began to scream and shout louder, only causing the baby to cry louder. Suddenly, without warning, the man holding Knuckles up slammed his body onto the ground like he was whipping a wet rag. Knuckles cried out in pain when his side came in contact with the dirt floor, and he accidentally dropped Kristy, leaving her on the ground as the man raised him back into the air. The captain reached into his coat and pulled out a small handgun. I felt my throat tie into knots, as I saw at the confused look on Knuckles' face. He had never seen a gun before, and he didn't know what was about to happen like I did. The captain aimed the silver gun at the crying, squirming infant on the floor and cocked the barrel.

Knuckles panted heavily and fought against the man, not wanting to know what that odd, silver stick did… until the gunshot rang out. When it did, he screamed, pulled his legs up to his chest in fear and covered his ears; that magic silver stick had somehow spurted fire and thunder! But then he realized his sister had gone silent, and he uncovered his ears. He gasped and looked over at his sister. A pool of blood was forming underneath her, staining the gravel underneath her. She had been shot in the temple, instantly killing her. Knuckles screamed her name over and over again, hoping she'd move or respond… but nothing happened. I felt my eyes tearing up as he shouted, "Kristy! KRISTY, NO!" Knuckles kept crying no, as he began to bawl his eyes out, still hanging in the man's hands.

"Take him to the ship," the captain commanded to the man who held Knuckles. He nodded and began to drag Knuckles, by his dreadlocks, towards the harbor. He grunted and groaned in pain, still bawling and screaming, as he hit rocks and tree stumps as he was being dragged. I looked back at Kristy-Lee, before I ran after the humans who'd taken my friend away.

Knuckles was dragged towards the shore, where hundreds, if not thousands of other echidnas, some not even from his own tribe, we're being shackled together by their wrists with heavy chains and led onto the humans' ships. The humans, to get the echidnas to move faster, we're throwing rocks at them and cracking at them with whips. Knuckles was shackled behind an older male echidna. The echidna looked back at him, and apparently Knuckles knew him.

"Zakary!" Knuckles exclaimed through teary eyes. "What's going on?" he cried, hugging onto the echidna's legs.

"I don't know my boy," Zakary replied with a grave voice, patting his back to comfort him. "Just remain brave." But suddenly they were tugged forward by the chains on their hands, and were nearly tripped as they headed up the ramp to the ship and onto the crowded deck.

I was standing on shore as Knuckles and the others were brought onboard… but then, I only blinked and somehow, when I opened my eyes, I was on the deck with all of the echidnas. It was loud, as all the echidnas were screaming and shouting words of fear or calling out to lost family members. All of them were crowded together and had barely enough room to stand; any of them wearing clothing were stripped down naked. Then the humans began to herd the frightened echidnas down into the hold of the ship, as the captain boarded and called for the ship to cast away.

Finally, I found Knuckles. He was being dragged, along with the others, down to the hold. He looked around with wide eyes, utterly terrified. But that's when he saw someone familiar. He gasped.

"MAMA!" he shouted over the noise. His mother was a little ways away with the other women. She had been stripped of her tribal clothing and feathers, and already showed signs of beating and neglect. Knuckles squeezed his way through the crowd, dragging other echidnas attached to his chains with him, and ran up to his mother, embracing her. He began to bawl on her chest.

"Th-They killed her mama! They killed Kristy! I-I couldn't stop them!" he cried. His mother stroked his dreadlocks and shushed him.

"Its ok baby, it's not your fault," she said quietly. Suddenly, she began to get tugged in a separate direction.

"No, momma, don't go!" Knuckles cried, grabbing into his mom.

"Knuckles, now I want you to be a good boy, and be brave now, you hear me?" his mother asked him. Knuckles looked at her confusedly, but then she raised her shackled hands and smacked the metal cuffs on her wrists against his. The cuff hadn't been locked properly, and it busted open when she bashed it. Knuckles gasped at his freedom and rubbed at his wrists.

Murmurs of one echidna's freedom had already begun to surface, and the crowds grew louder as they called for help, hoping that this one lucky echidna would choose him or her to free as well.

Knuckles hugged onto his mother, and tried to break her cuffs, but he was not strong enough. He was screaming mama to her, over and over as she began to get dragged even further away from him. But then she fought the chains, grabbed her son around the middle, kissed his forehead, then whispered something in his ear that I couldn't hear. Knuckles started to cry again, so I suspected it was something bad. And then, she did something that made me scream. She hoisted Knuckles up over her head, which caught the attention of the crew members. The humans began to shout, "One's free, one's free!"

That's when she did it. As the crew members began to run at her, to try and catch the freed echidna, she tossed him right over the edge of the boat! I screamed as loud as I could, as I heard the splash below, and a buff crew member jumped on and began to flog his mother.


	3. Chapter 3

I wanted so badly to run and pull the man off of Knuckles' mother, but I knew I couldn't help her, my hands would go right through her. Instead, I turned my attention to the sea, where Knuckles had been dumped, and away from the gruesome sight of Knuckles' mother being whipped repeatedly. I walked straight through all the crowds and right up to the edge of the ship.

All I could see were rolling, blue waves lapping at the side of the boat. I couldn't see Knuckles anywhere, and I began to panic. Maybe I had somehow disturbed the past, and he didn't survive? What it Knuckles no longer exists?

Just then, Knuckles' voice echoed in my head, bringing me back to reality. _"No idiot, of course I still exist!"_ he replied. Somehow, he'd read my mind, and I felt a bit calmer hearing his voice. That's when the scenery around me changed again. The screaming and commotion died away, and I found myself on the sandy beaches of Angel Island again. I could still hear faint screams and shouts from the boat as it sailed away, bringing all the captive echidnas along with it. I looked around, but still couldn't see Knuckles. I squinted my eyes against the setting sunlight in the horizon and tried to find him.

Finally, I saw him! He was being washed up to shore, half swimming and half letting the waves carry him, coughing and panting heavily from exhaustion. My heart leapt as I saw the young echidna make his last few attempts to swim, and let the waters carry him the rest of the way up the shallow shore. He pulled himself up with his hands and fall into the sand, then rolling onto his back, coughing and spitting saltwater from his mouth and panting. He just sat on the shore, staring up at the sky for a few moments, before he sat up and watched the boats sail off into the horizon. Knuckles began to whimper, and he wrapped his arms around his soaking body for warmth. He brought his knees up to his chest and let his head fall onto his knees, silently crying for his family and tribe. I walked up to him and sat down in front of him, looking right at the poor boy. Knuckles looked up with tears in his eyes, and he would've been looking right at me if he'd have known I was there. I stared back at him, as he looked blindly at the sea behind me, tears still rolling down his cheeks. We sat together for several hours that evening, just watching the sun set. Knuckles never said a word throughout this time, he just looked out, sniffling or whimpering every once and awhile. As it began to grow silent, Knuckles, the older Knuckles, spoke to me again.

"_On the ship, my mother had told me to take care of the Master Emerald and keep the island alive, along with whoever was left… I didn't know at the time that nobody but me __was __left,_" Knuckles said.

"I feel so awful," I mumbled.

"_Why? You didn't do this,"_ Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have brought it up… it probably brought back all these horrible memories," I replied quietly.

"_Well sure it did… it hurt, but a strong man learns to not let the sting last, and to whether through the pain."_

As Knuckles said this, his younger self stood up, shook off his dripping, tiny body, took one last look at the sea shore, then headed back into the forest silently. I got up and followed, looking back and forth at all of the dead, horribly mutilated echidnas scattered across the shore and the edge of the forest, whom Knuckles just walked past without even looking in their direction. He walked right back into the abandoned camp. I had never noticed, in the spur of the moment, how destroyed the place really looked. The tents had been burned to the ground; all of the belongings of these echidnas had been destroyed or set fire to. Everything Knuckles knew and loved had been destroyed. Knuckles walked past it all, and right up to a familiar place, where his dead sister laid on the floor, with a bit of dirt and gravel kicked up onto her from other humans. Knuckles brushed the dirt off of his sister's body and rolled her onto her back.

"_The poor girl; she barely had any time to live her life before it had been taken,"_ Knuckles said to me. "_It would've been nice to know what my sister would've turned out to be."_

"All this time, you had a sister… and you never told me," I mumbled.

"_I never told anyone… I wanted her to remain a distant memory,"_ Knuckles replied.

Young Knuckles lifted his baby sister into his arms and wrapped her blanket around her, covering her face with it. Using his knuckle spikes, he dug a small hole and placed his sister's body in it, then covered it up. Then, he reached up and around his neck, and removed a small hemp necklace, with a pendant shaped like a crescent moon, carved from ivory. He looked at it for a moment, before he laid the necklace on top of the mound and walked away. I looked back down at the mound, blinking away tears, then looked back at Knuckles. He'd found a rock to sit on, and he sat with his hands holding his head up, resting under his chin, as he looked out at the last bit of the sun before it had set, plunging us into a blue-black darkness.

I blinked away the tiredness from my eyes when the light around me grew bright. I looked around, and as the light dimmed, I found myself sitting up, against something hard that was driving uncomfortably into my back. I moved positions slightly and realized that I recognized this place. I turned my head towards what I was sitting up against, and found the familiar, glowing green gem behind me. Was I back to my normal time period now? I stood up and found Knuckles, the normal, 16-year-old Knuckles, sitting on the edge of the steps, leading down from the shrine. I took a small, nearly-silent breath of relief, and walked up to him, sitting next to him on the steps.

Knuckles never looked up at me, but I could tell he knew I was there. It was silent for a few moments, before I got up the courage to speak.

"Listen Knuckles, I'm really sorry about saying that earlier," I apologized. "I-I'm sorry about your mom and dad… and your sister Kristy-Lee. I'm sorry that your clan was wiped out and that you were left to be all by yourself… but most of all, I'm sorry that I was completely oblivious to everything that you've gone through. I guess I just needed to get some sense knocked into me," I joked, chuckling slightly. Knuckles smiled slightly at my last comment, but still didn't look at me, as he spoke.

"I-I just… I wish I could've had a chance to know what it was like… to still be a part of someone's family, y'know?" Knuckles said. He looked down at the step he sat on, rubbing it slightly with the palm of his hand, then he finally looked at me. "A few days later, after the initial hurt went away, I began to trek up towards the Master Emerald shrine," Knuckles began, as he told the rest of the story. "Finding food wasn't a major issue, but water was different… there weren't a lot of clean streams nearby, and even the clean ones weren't entirely clean, and I hadn't yet learned how to build a fire to boil the water… you know, to clean it."

"Then how are you not crawling with parasites?" I asked.

"Who said I hadn't gotten sick?" Knuckles asked me in reply. "Before I taught myself how to make a fire, I'd gotten sick and thrown up several times from uncooked food or untreated water. But then I finally found the shrine. I'd only seen the emerald one other time with my dad. I stayed up there, well, the rest of my life basically. I hunted and gathered for food, and set out once a week for water. That's one way I became so strong… carrying so many buckets of water from one place to the other. That, along with doing other things all by myself, I became pretty self sufficient."

"What about the island?" I asked him. "How is it floating now, and was not floating then?"

"About a year after the loss of my tribe, I found something that looked like a control panel underneath the stand where the Master Emerald sits upon," Knuckles replied. "With a bit of tinkering, I figured out that the… whatever it was… had been broken down. Nobody else knew of this control panel under the emerald, since very few echidnas actually moved it. But I was able to fix it, and once I did, I realized that the island was rising into the air," Knuckles explained. "It was startling at first, until I realized that it floated through the power of the Master Emerald, channeling its power and allowing it to float. Since I'm the guardian, and can control the emerald's power, I figured that I can control where it floats to and how high it descends. I've been in control of it ever since." Knuckles took a deep, wavering breath, and continued. "I couldn't stop thinking of my family and friends after the night I realized the I controlled the island. I kept thinking about how I'm supposed to guard this rock… but since my clan was destroyed, I didn't know why I had to. It plagued me forever… until I figured it out."

I could tell he was on the verge of crying; his eyes looked wet and red. I waited for his answer in anticipation.

"…The reason I still guard it today is because it lets me remember my clan. This island is all I have left of it… and if this gem keeps it afloat, then I'm sure as hell going to guard it with my life… I couldn't stand to have everything from my family taken." Knuckles wiped at his eyes slightly, though the "big, tough boy" tried to hide it from me. I sighed and put an arm around his shoulder. Knuckles sniffled slightly and spoke, his voice wavering now. "I just wish I still had a family," he murmured.

"You do have a family," I said. Knuckles gave me a quizzical look, and I figured I'd have to tell him. "It's us!" I said, squeezing his shoulders tighter. "Tails, Amy, and I… we all love you Knuckles… you just need to do a little less yelling and get out a little more," I joked. Knuckles laughed once, then stopped and wiped at his eyes again. I knew he needed some way to cheer up.

"Knuckles, I want you to come spend the rest of the day with us," I invited. "Tails and I are heading down to Station Square to get some early dinner, and you're coming with," I said, not in the form of a question, but almost in the form of a command. Knuckles smiled at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder as well.

"Thanks… but what about the Master Emerald?" he asked. "If you may remember, it's the only thing I have left of my tribe." I let a small moan escape my lips.

"You know what? We're bringing it with us!" I said in an almost irritated tone… although I didn't mean it to be. Knuckles looked at me like I was crazy.

"That's right, we're bringing it with us… that way we can both be satisfied," I said. I went up to the emerald and bent down by the bottom. "C'mon, help me lift it!" I said. Knuckles looked back at me, but he smiled slightly, showing his pointed canines, and he stood up and helped me lift it off the stand it sat on.

"Ready? 1… 2… 3…!"


End file.
